(Newser)
–
Iran, Syria, and other members of the self-proclaimed “resistance bloc” are delighted by the unrest sweeping through the Arab world—since it’s so far affected primarily US allies like Egypt and Jordan, the Wall Street Journalobserves. The unrest “proved that the global arrogance’s era of domination and control of the region has come to an end,” Iran’s foreign minister said this week—"global arrogance" being the country's nickname for the US. A senior Hamas official agreed saying, "We like what's happening."

But all of that could change, of course, if Syria itself experiences a groundswell; opposition groups have called for a “day of rage” there tomorrow. For now, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he’s not worried. “As long as the people have a major say in the future,” he said, “then you are going to have a minor say in the United States.”

It's an absolute lie and sick joke for Syrian President Basher al-Assad to say that Syria will not face a rebellion because his "people have a major say in the future." The reason Syria will not face a rebellion is because in 1982, the Syrian army crushed an Islamist uprising by destroying an entire city and killing somewhere between 17,000 and 40,000 civilians, and people there are scared to this day. Here is the account: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama_massacre 17,000 to 40,000 people! That puts it somewhere in the blood-soaked territory between atrocity and genocide. To give you a basis for comparison, something like 1700 Gazan civilians were killed in Operation Cast Lead. And 17000 - 40000 is higher than any number of civilians who might have been killed under Mubarak. Make no mistake, the al-Assad family dynasty does not give its people "a major say in the future." It is one of the most murderous, repressive regimes in the world.